LAPD Statement on Internal Affairs Investigation NR20005ml

Los Angeles: In early 2019, a San Fernando Valley mother received written correspondence from the Department informing her that her son had been identified as a gang member. She believed her son was misidentified and reported the mistake to a supervisor at a nearby police station.

The supervisor immediately reviewed the circumstances, including body worn video and other information, finding inaccuracies in the documentation completed by an officer.

The parent was notified that her son would not be identified as a gang member and any references to him as such were removed. Concurrently, the Department initiated a personnel investigation into the actions of three involved officers.

Over the course of several months, Internal Affairs investigators have continued their investigation resulting in identifying additional inaccuracies in documentation on field interview cards completed by those officers as well as others.

To date, all of the involved officers were assigned to Metropolitan Division crime suppression duties at the time the inaccurate documentation was completed. Given the serious nature of the alleged misconduct, all involved officers have been assigned to inactive duty or removed from the field.

The Department’s Internal Affairs investigation of this matter continues and the Chief of Police directed the Office of Constitutional Policing and Policies to inspect the work product of all Metropolitan Division crime suppression activities to ensure the accuracy of all documentation. If any discrepancies are found they will be forwarded to Internal Affairs Division for further investigation.

Public trust is the foundation of community policing and the LAPD has zero tolerance for any employee that would violate that trust. Chief Moore stated, “An officer’s integrity must be absolute. There is no place in the Department for any individual who would purposely falsify information on a Department report.” The Department is working with the Justice System Integrity Division of the L.A. County District Attorney’s office on any potential criminal charges that may arise from any misconduct.